Thursday, July 25, 2013

Sibling Summer Fun: Mike the Knight Missions

We are still enjoying summer at our house. We don't have a crazy schedule and vacations are mostly done. We are starting to settle into a relaxed summer routine and I'm trying to enjoy every minute before I send my son off to kindergarten.

Despite my attempts at keeping things relaxed and calm... but oldest two (ages 5 and 2.5) have been fighting a lot lately!

The kids love finding out what mission Mike is going to go on next. I love that each short segment of the DVD has something it is trying to teach (treat friends kindly, be slow and careful, listen to what people say, etc.).

One of the ways that I am trying to combat the fighting at our house lately is by channeling all of the negative energy into something more positive - Mike the Knight Missions!

We made a simple Mike the Knight "missions" jar with slips of paper in it and we wrote down some activities that the kids could work on together.

I also added a few of my own ideas into the jar. Then the kids picked an activity and were off working on it together.

Their first mission was to dump out the baby pool in our back yard (it had an inch of water in it). I gave them plastic cups and told them to work together to figure out how complete their mission.

I wanted to jump in and tell them how to do it quickly and easily (ie. pull the plug)... but instead I just watched... and giggled. It took awhile. They got a little messy... but they figured it out and they were SO PROUD of themselves.

The best part was that there wasn't any fighting. They were so busy working and thinking hard... there wasn't any time. I was surprised. I expected one to be bossy and the other to get mad... but they genuinely wanted to complete their mission together... so they did.

Today their mission was to work together to drive a car at a local amusement park. I sat in the back and hoped I wouldn't get carsick.

Our little "missions" are fun and simple. They reminded me that although play is fun and is the "work" of children... simply working is also very important. Kids can work together as they play... and kids can also work on chores and other assignments together to then improve their play. Families become more unified as they work together... which I think improves the way they play together too.

Some other missions my kids completed this week have included...

putting away the silverware (apparently that is a really cool thing to do at our house)

feeding the baby (with supervision)

making brownies (with some help from mom)

building a giant block tower

puting snacks into ziplock baggies

making cards for the neighbors

We still need to brainstorm several other ideas tomorrow.

What Mike the Knight Missions would you come up with for your kids? What would they come up with for themselves?

My son is very good at volunteering to do any mission that involves taste-testing treats :)

I'd love to hear about how you might get your kids working together on missions at your house. Come share in the comments!!

Today my kids actually got to meet Mike the Knight. It was the highlight of their day. My daughter told him that she loves his movie. It was adorable.

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